Leicester V Middlesbrough at The King Power Stadium : Match Preview

Anthony Knockaert is expected to be fit for Leicester's clash against promotion rivals Middlesbrough.

Knockaert limped out of the 4-0 win over Bristol City last weekend after aggravating a knock he sustained in training.

The France Under-21 international had also been suffering from illness in the build-up to the game at Ashton Gate, but boss Nigel Pearson thinks his winger will be able to feature on Friday night.

"He had a knock in training prior to the game and got a knock in the same place so it was an easy decision to replace him," said Pearson.

"He was a bit ill on Saturday morning as well and has suffered a bit since, but it (his substitution) has given him a bit more time to recover and he should be okay."

Knockaert is not the only member of Pearson's squad to be struck down by illness and the Leicester manager will check on all his players before naming his squad to face his former club.

Elsewhere, striker Jamie Vardy is back in contention after recovering from the heel injury he suffered prior to Christmas but defenders Sean St. Ledger (hamstring) and Zak Whitbread (calf) remain unavailable for a while longer.

Pearson added: "Zak is on his way back, as is Sean, so hopefully we will have more positive news before too long."

Victory for the Foxes will see them climb into the automatic promotion places behind npower Championship leaders Cardiff ahead of Saturday's fixtures.

Middlesbrough boss Tony Mowbray could welcome back a host of players for the trip.

Defenders Andrew Halliday (broken nose) and Jonathan Woodgate (calf) returned to training earlier this week and will be assessed ahead of kick-off.

Fellow defenders Andre Bikey and Justin Hoyte have also resumed training following hamstring and hip problems respectively and could come into consideration.

Striker Marvin Emnes is also available after a hamstring injury while midfielder Josh McEachran could feature after recovering from an ankle knock sustained against Watford.

Curtis Main played in an Under-21 match earlier this week after recovering from a knee operation but is likely to miss out.

Veteran Julio Arca is also two to three weeks away following a toe operation and Muzzy Carayol (knee) is also a couple of weeks away from a return.